


It's Quiet Uptown

by Partially_Stars



Category: Death Note
Genre: Angst, It's sad guys, M/M, Mello never died, Meronia, Non-Canonical Character Death, The title is from Hamilton, of course my first work in this fandom is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 14:43:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7226638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Partially_Stars/pseuds/Partially_Stars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you see him in the street, walking by himself, talking to himself, have pity. He is working through the unimaginable.</p><p> </p><p>- After the untimely death of the love of his life, Mello leaves his detective life behind him. Without Near, his lover and old rival, it seems like a pointless reminder that the life of the world's greatest detective comes with the burden of possible death. He felt sorrow when L and Matt died, but he could never be prepared to feel the unbearable amount of pain that comes along with losing your first and only true love.<br/>"Near, you'd like it uptown. It's quiet uptown."</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Quiet Uptown

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work in this fandom, as well as on Ao3! I've written in other places, but I've always admired the writing on here, so I decided to join the community! This is a pretty sad fic, but I plan to write more happy, fluffy Meronia one shots in the future!  
> This isn't really a song fic, but It's Quiet Uptown is quoted several times!

When L died, Mello's heart sunk and he came close to crying, oh,  _so_ close to crying. But he didn't cry. However, when Matt died, he did cry in his dark bedroom. He sobbed for the friend-no, the family that he lost. For months, he did nothing but blamed himself for the death of his friend who died much too young. It took him awhile to get over Matt's death, but eventually he did. He told himself that Matt would have only laughed at him for crying like a child. 

Near, however, was a different story. Mello swore up and down that he hated the young, cotton ball look alike. He was not ready, nor smart enough to become the next L. Mello was not shy and voiced his opinion that Near would never be good enough to be the holder of the title of world's greatest detective. To his utter surprise, Near did nothing but agree with notion and said something that Mello, even today, doesn't think he heard correctly.  _"I need you as well, Mello. We need to join together to be able to take on the task of being L. You can either accept to join me or not, but keep in mind that if you refuse, you will never be this close to becoming the next L again."_ Mello agreed.

For the first year working together, nothing was different. They still fought over their different methods and insulted each other just because they could. But, it was more light hearted than it was before. Mello would never admit that he enjoyed the playful teasing quite a bit. Near would never fill the void that Matt's death left in Mello's life, but he being with Near made him feel less lonely. Maybe that's why he kissed him after a year a half of working together. Near must have being feeling less lonely with him around as well, because he kissed back. The kiss didn't lead to anything too serious, just more kissing and light touching. Neither of them wanted to push it too far so quickly, for all they knew, they were only kissing each other out of pity. After months of doing nothing but light kiss at odd hours of the night when it was only them working together. Nothing changed, until Near decided to say that they should progress their relationship or stop it once and for all. It took days, nearly a week, before Mello decided that he didn't want things to end, that Near couldn't get rid of him that easily. Besides, he was almost positive that he  ~~loved~~ strongly liked Near. That's how their relationship started.

As soon as it started, not two years later, it was already over. Mello received the news that the one and only love of his life had been shot down by some powerful mob boss that they had been trying to stop for months. After first, Mello did nothing but sit there without speaking. What could he say? Near had body guards and coworkers that should have protected him at all cost. Mello himself should have protected him. He cursed himself for taking a small case a few towns away from Near, but Near had encouraged him to go in the first place.  _"I know you, Mello, and I know that you are bored. We've been working on this case for months, go ahead and take another case in the meantime. I'll be fine working on this alone for a little while."_ Of course, Near wasn't fine in the end. No, he was dead, and with him, a little piece of Mello was too."

It took an entire week for Mello to fully realize that Near was gone forever and that he would never be able to see him again. A glance at Near's toys helped him realize this, and he broke down. He swore, threw things, and sobbed until his ribs were aching and he couldn't possibly cry anymore. A day later, Mello packed his belongings and left without telling anyone. Without Near, there was no greatest detective. There was just Mello, great detective. It was only when they were together that they could possibly be great. Just as quickly as he agreed to be a detective, he chose to leave it.

 

"Near, you'd like it uptown. It's quiet uptown." Mello found himself repeating this every time he thought of the lover he had lost too soon. It'd been three years since Near had died and Mello left the detective business. He went by a different name and tried his best to blend into the other people who lived uptown. It was different than where he and Near stayed, it was much more slow and...well, quiet. Near would have liked it much better here. Maybe if Near hadn't died, they would have moved up here and lived out the rest of their days. But now, Near would only visit in his memory. 

Three years ago was when it happened, but it still only felt like yesterday. Mello still cried sometimes, late at night when no one in their right minds would be awake. He would cry so much that his eyes remained red in the morning. He knew that no amount of tears, big or little, would bring Near back, but that didn't stop him from letting the tears come every time he remember him. Near was his first love and he would be his last. You don't just 'move on' from what happened between them. They loved each other, but still, love wasn't enough and one of them died. One of them was buried six feet under while the other was sobbing in a small apartment somewhere uptown. It wasn't fair. Life never was fair.

Almost every night, Mello would walk around the city and imagine that Near was beside him. He'd been doing this ever since he found himself living uptown. At first, people would smile and wave at him, but he never returned the pleasantries. Eventually, all he got when people saw him was a sad look, as if they knew what he was going through. He didn't doubt that everyone he passed had lost a person before, maybe a lover, like him. Maybe that's why he felt oddly at home living uptown. Though no matter what healing he had done, he found himself whispering almost every night without fail; "Near, you'd like it uptown. It's quiet uptown."

 


End file.
